Georgian opposition leader's husband to go on trial in absentia

Badri Bitsadze, the husband of Georgian opposition leader Nino Burdzhanadze, will go on trial in absentia on Friday on charges of organizing attacks on police, his lawyer said. Bitsadze is accused of orchestrating attacks on police during the five-day opposition protest against President Mikheil Saakashvili, which was broken up in the early hours of May 26. Bitsadze's whereabouts have been unknown for two months. If found guilty, Bitsadze faces from four to seven years behind bars. Riot police used water cannons, rubber bullets and teargas to disperse opposition activists who gathered late on May 26 on Tbilisi's main street in an attempt to prevent an Independence Day military parade. Georgian police later said they arrested 24 members of an armed group that was planning attacks in an attempt to destabilize the situation in the country. Police said a member of the group had said that Bitsadze was one of the main figures. Several days later after the protests Georgian police revealed a recording of a telephone conversation between Nino Burdzhanadze and her younger son, Anzor Bitsadze, discussing a possible "Egyptian scenario" to overthrow Saakashvili.